Digital Collage
EXhibition Text
Title: Growth and Patience
Size: 61cm x 91cm
Medium: Software Manipulation
Date: September 15, 2016
Size: 61cm x 91cm
Medium: Software Manipulation
Date: September 15, 2016
Exhibition Text
Title:
Size: 61cm x 91cm
Medium:Software Manipulation
Date: September 15, 2016
Gabrielle Matiszik focused on creating a digital collage that demonstrates some of Gabrielle's inner thoughts on identity. She created this work using Adobe Photoshop CS6. Her inspiration was derived from Frida Kahlo's self portraits. The purpose of this piece was to help re-establish hope and confidence not only in herself, but her future.
Size: 61cm x 91cm
Medium:Software Manipulation
Date: September 15, 2016
Gabrielle Matiszik focused on creating a digital collage that demonstrates some of Gabrielle's inner thoughts on identity. She created this work using Adobe Photoshop CS6. Her inspiration was derived from Frida Kahlo's self portraits. The purpose of this piece was to help re-establish hope and confidence not only in herself, but her future.
Meaning
Every human being is the same. Yet, this isn’t completely true, is it? Even our bodies defy normalities. Underneath the skin, muscle, tendon, and bone is what an individual is. Physically everyone has mass. I still feel as if I have no matter. Everywhere you look, young people know what they want to do. More and more stories emerge of child prodigies with passion, ambition, drive and the talent to succeed. It can be unnerving as a teenager going into college; who is still hopelessly confused at what to do with their own future. I construct these ideas of an ideal path. Of course I want to be able to get into a good college. It’s obvious that I want to go into a successful major, graduate at the top of my class, make my parents proud, and ride into the sunset. How can I begin that process when I do not even know where to start? It is not a matter of work ethic or determination that frightens me; rather it is the fear that I will be successful, that I can be confident in my own abilities.
This idea of fear of success is most easily illustrated by one of my passions, which is swimming. Swimming is something that I struggle with, not in the physical aspect, but in the mental portion of the sport. This is something that can sometimes be hard to understand, because it is a physical sport. It is often forgotten the mental strain that athletes go under in order to succeed. Over the course of six months, I trained during the past fall and winter with the intentions of going to nationals that following spring. At practice, I was exceeding my coaches expectations of what I was capable of. I surprised myself with my own success at practice. I was informed that I should reach my time goals with little issue at my state championships. At the time, it appeared so simple; I had worked hard all season for this one goal, and my hard work was about to be paid off. However, an idea then crossed my mind, what if I did not? What if my coaches were wrong, and I did not deserve this accomplishment? This fear that I was not worthy of success grew, and needless to say inhabilitated my possible success. I feared that putting confidence in my training would dub me as arrogant. I believed I would be seen as cocky for believing I could be successful. It became a vicious cycle of not only fearing success, but fearing failure.
Despite my many imperfections, I still have a deep sense of personal motivation. I decided that it would be up to myself to believe in what I was doing. I needed to stray from the idea that in order to be seen as successful or prosperous, I needed other people’s approval. It had been made apparent to me that one of the roots of my nagging fear was my lack of self confidence. If I could somehow generate this confidence, that would be the answer to my problems. However, I have not yet reached this point. It is about taking small steps, baby steps, until I can reach my final goal; to be happy with who I am as a person. I strive to feel any sense of pride in something that I do and love. People are not born knowing what it is they want to do in life. I am only sixteen years old; therefore I should not yet have to know what my ultimate calling is in life. The only thing that I can do is use the time given to me to my advantage, and know that one of the most beautiful mysteries in life is the unknown. I am destined for greater things. These directions will not lead me to them; rather, I need to find them for myself. Instead of looking for the meaning of life, I need to give my life meaning.
This idea of fear of success is most easily illustrated by one of my passions, which is swimming. Swimming is something that I struggle with, not in the physical aspect, but in the mental portion of the sport. This is something that can sometimes be hard to understand, because it is a physical sport. It is often forgotten the mental strain that athletes go under in order to succeed. Over the course of six months, I trained during the past fall and winter with the intentions of going to nationals that following spring. At practice, I was exceeding my coaches expectations of what I was capable of. I surprised myself with my own success at practice. I was informed that I should reach my time goals with little issue at my state championships. At the time, it appeared so simple; I had worked hard all season for this one goal, and my hard work was about to be paid off. However, an idea then crossed my mind, what if I did not? What if my coaches were wrong, and I did not deserve this accomplishment? This fear that I was not worthy of success grew, and needless to say inhabilitated my possible success. I feared that putting confidence in my training would dub me as arrogant. I believed I would be seen as cocky for believing I could be successful. It became a vicious cycle of not only fearing success, but fearing failure.
Despite my many imperfections, I still have a deep sense of personal motivation. I decided that it would be up to myself to believe in what I was doing. I needed to stray from the idea that in order to be seen as successful or prosperous, I needed other people’s approval. It had been made apparent to me that one of the roots of my nagging fear was my lack of self confidence. If I could somehow generate this confidence, that would be the answer to my problems. However, I have not yet reached this point. It is about taking small steps, baby steps, until I can reach my final goal; to be happy with who I am as a person. I strive to feel any sense of pride in something that I do and love. People are not born knowing what it is they want to do in life. I am only sixteen years old; therefore I should not yet have to know what my ultimate calling is in life. The only thing that I can do is use the time given to me to my advantage, and know that one of the most beautiful mysteries in life is the unknown. I am destined for greater things. These directions will not lead me to them; rather, I need to find them for myself. Instead of looking for the meaning of life, I need to give my life meaning.
Critical Investigation
Frida Kahlo was my artist inspiration for this piece. I was going for a strong, and independent self-portrait. In other words, I wanted to be the focus point of the collage. I believed that Frida Kahlo would be someone to gain ideas from. Two portraits that I specifically analyzed were Self - Portrait II and Self Portrait with Loose Hair.
Kahlo uses frequent images of nature such as; leaves, flowers, and small animals. The use of nature inspired me to incorporate flowers as a key aspect for my collage. Flowers not only symbolize beauty, but are associated with the idea of patience. Flowers take time to grow, develop, and blossom. When cared for and nurtured properly, they are able to transform from something simplistic and ordinary into another being. Every flower has originality and uniqueness. These ideas directly correlate with my personal theme of patience and finding self-value to discover a deeper meaning or beauty within myself.
Again, like Frida Kahlo, I wanted my feelings to be easily expressed. This is signified by my darker under eyes as well as the look of grave concern upon my face. My idea was that while the mental aspect of myself may not be able to fully comprehend my worth, that inside I did have true talent and potential. The ribs align with the literal translation of my insides. My brain is able to comprehend that I, physically am made up of bone in this instance, but nothing more. It works in concrete or logical pathways, and has trouble recognizing abstract concepts increasing the difficulty in finding self-worth, which are symbolized by the flowers. The grey sweater is a symbol for me finding comfort in my own sadness and despair.
Frida Kahlo was born in 1907, Coyoacan, Mexico. She was diagnosed with polio as a young child, and was nearly killed in a bus accident as a teenager. She went under over thirty operations in her life. Her paintings were often self-portraits that portrayed her inner pain and sufferings. These emotions she felt were best expressed in the form of visual art. Kahlo was never much for socializing, or interacting with words in general but felt that her work was a way of interacting with masses of people who felt similar to herself. “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” ~Frida Kahlo
Kahlo uses frequent images of nature such as; leaves, flowers, and small animals. The use of nature inspired me to incorporate flowers as a key aspect for my collage. Flowers not only symbolize beauty, but are associated with the idea of patience. Flowers take time to grow, develop, and blossom. When cared for and nurtured properly, they are able to transform from something simplistic and ordinary into another being. Every flower has originality and uniqueness. These ideas directly correlate with my personal theme of patience and finding self-value to discover a deeper meaning or beauty within myself.
Again, like Frida Kahlo, I wanted my feelings to be easily expressed. This is signified by my darker under eyes as well as the look of grave concern upon my face. My idea was that while the mental aspect of myself may not be able to fully comprehend my worth, that inside I did have true talent and potential. The ribs align with the literal translation of my insides. My brain is able to comprehend that I, physically am made up of bone in this instance, but nothing more. It works in concrete or logical pathways, and has trouble recognizing abstract concepts increasing the difficulty in finding self-worth, which are symbolized by the flowers. The grey sweater is a symbol for me finding comfort in my own sadness and despair.
Frida Kahlo was born in 1907, Coyoacan, Mexico. She was diagnosed with polio as a young child, and was nearly killed in a bus accident as a teenager. She went under over thirty operations in her life. Her paintings were often self-portraits that portrayed her inner pain and sufferings. These emotions she felt were best expressed in the form of visual art. Kahlo was never much for socializing, or interacting with words in general but felt that her work was a way of interacting with masses of people who felt similar to herself. “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” ~Frida Kahlo
Artist Inspiration
Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Loose Hair. 1947.
oil on canvas. Frida Kahlo. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwi4iJ25nZDPAhWEFT4KHVKJADgQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuseum.org%2Fartwork%2FSelf-Portrait-with-Loose-Hair-Frida-Kahlo-1947&psig=AFQjCNGNHPxcdzglUjns1dRvDYscT2Lt-g&ust=1473989628104713&cad=rja |
Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait II. 1940.
oil on canvas. Frida Kahlo. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjvxMCqmJDPAhXC2D4KHWcLD9QQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.frida-kahlo-foundation.org%2FSelf-Portrait-II.html&psig=AFQjCNH3-Q78jfr-ZiAZy_c39cfYjYYhQQ&ust=1473988267180421&cad=rjt |
Planning
This was my third and final sketch which I ended up using as my template for my collage. This is where I began searching for an artist inspiration, and decided upon Frida Kahlo due to her prominent self-portraits, use of nature, and inner troubles and anxieties.
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These were my first two practice sketches. At this moment, I was not sure if I wanted to use Frida Kahlo as my inspiration, but I planned my sketches around my desired theme.
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REflection
This project was one of the most difficult processes that I have undergone for an art class. Going into the digital collage, I had no experience in Adobe Photoshop or digital art of any sort. In order for myself to be successful at this assignment, I had to do an extensive amount of research on the fundamentals of Photoshop. This included in depth YouTube videos on specific tasks as well as simple trial and error with layering and different filters. All of these skills took time and practice in addition to the time it took to actually create the collage.
Thankfully, however, I had a general idea of the outline of my collage as soon as the project was introduced. I knew that important themes of the visual aspect would include nature and some form of distortion. These general ideas helped me orchestrate more specific parts of the collage including; ribs, sense of identity, and discomfort. As I was brainstorming, I came to the conclusion that the collage should not only have a general theme, but also an emotion or feeling surrounding the piece. Discomfort was an emotion that I felt would fit in well with the distortion. In addition, individuals, often teenagers, do not enjoy hearing how they do not have any meaning or value in this world. How small everyone’s existence really is can be difficult to grasp, mentally. I wanted people who looked at my art to not only question the piece for what it was worth, but to question themselves. This piece was a way to get individuals to ask themselves difficult questions on who they are, what they are, and where they are going.
I also felt that nature was a solid way to communicate with a large number of people. Nature has its own beauty, and does not have any hoops to jump through. In other words, there is a universal understanding and appreciation for its presence. The flowers in my piece are a symbol for patience and growth. Yet these same flowers can also be seen as beautiful, and due to the fact that my piece is about seeking inner beauty, this can also be a part of the context of the symbolism. These two interpretations can be interwoven and interchanged allowing for a personal interpretation to whoever looks upon it. Despite my desire to find an item that sufficed for my abstract concepts; I also wanted to find an object that satisfied the literal sustenance of my collage, and I found this element in the rib cage. I debated on which kind of rib cage I would use, whether it be a painting emulated after Francis Bacon, an actual rib cage with the muscle and tendon still in-tact, or simply a plastic model of a skeleton dummy. I chose the plastic rib cage in the end with the idea that who I am as a person was simply a model, and it was something that I could manipulate and change. I was not confined by my own internal construction.
Despite my best intentions, I was faced with several large and grave difficulties while undergoing this project. One of these was that all my Photoshop skills had been learned using Windows software. However, at my home, I only have an Apple desktop. This proved to be more challenging than I initially anticipated due to some major shifts in locations of certain functions and drop down functions on the Mac itself. Another key issue was that I was unable to use Photoshop CS6, which is the program which I had learned to use while in class. My only source of useable Photoshop was Photoshop CC, the slightly newer version of Photoshop CS6. This served to be a dilemma as I was unfamiliar with the setup of this newer version, and this led to more issues. After all my photos had been cut out, and ready to be assigned to their own individual layers, I attempted to save my progress in individual files to continue later on. However, upon several attempts, I came to the understanding that the files and saving method was different on my Mac than the Windows program which I had used in class. This huge error on my own part caused me to not only scrap some individual files, but delete my entire already made collage and start fresh.
Looking back on this experience, I am proud of the work which I have accomplished, yet there are sections which I had done significantly different. Before beginning my collage, I wish that I had developed a further understanding of the Photoshop fundamentals specifically for my Mac. This would have saved me a lot of time, effort, and stress over creating an entire new collage. Also, if I completed this project again, I would want to add more meaning and detail to the background of the piece. I feel as if that development would add a lot more character to my collage.
Thankfully, however, I had a general idea of the outline of my collage as soon as the project was introduced. I knew that important themes of the visual aspect would include nature and some form of distortion. These general ideas helped me orchestrate more specific parts of the collage including; ribs, sense of identity, and discomfort. As I was brainstorming, I came to the conclusion that the collage should not only have a general theme, but also an emotion or feeling surrounding the piece. Discomfort was an emotion that I felt would fit in well with the distortion. In addition, individuals, often teenagers, do not enjoy hearing how they do not have any meaning or value in this world. How small everyone’s existence really is can be difficult to grasp, mentally. I wanted people who looked at my art to not only question the piece for what it was worth, but to question themselves. This piece was a way to get individuals to ask themselves difficult questions on who they are, what they are, and where they are going.
I also felt that nature was a solid way to communicate with a large number of people. Nature has its own beauty, and does not have any hoops to jump through. In other words, there is a universal understanding and appreciation for its presence. The flowers in my piece are a symbol for patience and growth. Yet these same flowers can also be seen as beautiful, and due to the fact that my piece is about seeking inner beauty, this can also be a part of the context of the symbolism. These two interpretations can be interwoven and interchanged allowing for a personal interpretation to whoever looks upon it. Despite my desire to find an item that sufficed for my abstract concepts; I also wanted to find an object that satisfied the literal sustenance of my collage, and I found this element in the rib cage. I debated on which kind of rib cage I would use, whether it be a painting emulated after Francis Bacon, an actual rib cage with the muscle and tendon still in-tact, or simply a plastic model of a skeleton dummy. I chose the plastic rib cage in the end with the idea that who I am as a person was simply a model, and it was something that I could manipulate and change. I was not confined by my own internal construction.
Despite my best intentions, I was faced with several large and grave difficulties while undergoing this project. One of these was that all my Photoshop skills had been learned using Windows software. However, at my home, I only have an Apple desktop. This proved to be more challenging than I initially anticipated due to some major shifts in locations of certain functions and drop down functions on the Mac itself. Another key issue was that I was unable to use Photoshop CS6, which is the program which I had learned to use while in class. My only source of useable Photoshop was Photoshop CC, the slightly newer version of Photoshop CS6. This served to be a dilemma as I was unfamiliar with the setup of this newer version, and this led to more issues. After all my photos had been cut out, and ready to be assigned to their own individual layers, I attempted to save my progress in individual files to continue later on. However, upon several attempts, I came to the understanding that the files and saving method was different on my Mac than the Windows program which I had used in class. This huge error on my own part caused me to not only scrap some individual files, but delete my entire already made collage and start fresh.
Looking back on this experience, I am proud of the work which I have accomplished, yet there are sections which I had done significantly different. Before beginning my collage, I wish that I had developed a further understanding of the Photoshop fundamentals specifically for my Mac. This would have saved me a lot of time, effort, and stress over creating an entire new collage. Also, if I completed this project again, I would want to add more meaning and detail to the background of the piece. I feel as if that development would add a lot more character to my collage.
Collecting Images
Process Technique Communication
Critique
Experimentation
The main area for my experimentation was adding differing levels of filters to my piece. I added all of the flowers and vegitation to my piece, but I was unsure of how much of it I wanted to be able to be seen.
Connecting to the ACT
- Frida Kahlo’s art is often inspired by nature. There are usually flowers, vegetation, animals, or landscapes within her paintings. My personal piece is an obvious self-portrait, with deeper meaning as well as an abundance of flowers.
- The general idea was that Frida Kahlo was a brilliant individual who struggled with her own demons. She masked these well in public, but expressed them explicitly and beautifully in her work.
- The ideas of self-hatred and obsessive mindset that oneself is not good enough for the world is not a new idea; rather it has been occurring in the minds of people for fifty years, at the least.
- My main idea was forcing people to look at things deeper than skin value. I wanted to create something that is up to anyone’s interpretation, and that everyone can take a piece of.
- Frida Kahlo was more than just an artist. She posses the capability to really relate with the newer generations, and gain their full support and admiration.